Challenge Accepted
by catthegreat
Summary: A misunderstood comment from Kaiba has Jou accepting the challenge to take Calculus, but the homework is more difficult than he expected. Puppyshipping. Rated for language.


**AN:** _Written to prove I can write a happy fanfic, especially about Kaiba and Jou. Hope you enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated! Also, I didn't do too much editing beforehand this time, so let me know if there are any major errors._

* * *

"Stop chewing on your pencil so much, Mutt, or I'll think you want to play fetch."

Jou glanced up from the notebook in his lap just long enough to glare at the brunet working at the desk across the room from him before staring down again. He slid the pencil out of his mouth for a moment and tapped it against the couch's arm rest repeatedly.

"This wouldn't be happening if you _actually_ helped me," he responded, narrowing his eyes at the textbook to his left.

"I was under the impression you _know what you're doing_."

"Don't be an ass, Moneybags."

"I'm not being an ass. You asked me to help and then you sent me away."

"You were mocking me!" Jou dropped the pencil and threw his hands in the air.

Kaiba sighed and looked up from his laptop. "It's not my fault you chose to take Calculus without the proper preparation."

At that, Jou scowled and crossed his arms defensively. "You challenged me."

"I did not _challenge_ you, Jounochi, and you know it."

"You did too! You said:" Jou threw up air quotes and spoke in a bad impression of Kaiba, "_you couldn't pass Calculus without having taken trig_." His voice returned to normal. "That's a challenge!"

"Only you would see that as a challenge," Kaiba returned to typing on his computer. "Besides, I don't see why a history major needs advanced math anyways."

"Maybe I just wanted to take that."

To Jou's surprise, Kaiba chuckled. "You hate math."

"So?"

"So why take advanced math classes?"

"Maybe it's because…" Jou trailed off, biting his lower lip. He really didn't want to say it.

"Because what?" Kaiba looked interested, no longer staring down at his computer.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"No."

"You're acting like a stubborn dog."

"Why do you always have to do that?"

"Do what? Stop changing the subject Jounochi."

"You're always insulting me!" He readopted the bad impression from before, "_hey Mutt history is a stupid major. Why don't you make something of your life?_" The airquotes returned. "_Man Jounochi, you're so dumb. You could never understand all the science that I do every day_."

"I do _not_ sound like that."

"Do too."

"I am not going to sit here and argue with you, Jounochi. I have work to do." Kaiba resumed his typing.

Jou glared for a bit then stared back down at his textbook. The question didn't make any sense after the fifth time reading it, so with irritation, he slammed it closed and thre it on the floor. Kaiba looked over at him, one eyebrow raised gracefully, his fingers still moving across the keyboard.

"This is stupid," Jou grumbled.

"So drop the class."

"No."

"Stop being stubborn."

"I'm not dropping the class."

"Why?"

Jou mumbled something under his breath.

"Speak up, Jounochi, I can't hear you from over here."

The blond glared at him again. "I _said_ because I want to understand."

"What, the material?"

"No. You."

"What about me?"

Jou looked down at the suddenly very interesting fray on the couch and began picking at it. "I want to understand more about what you do."

The clicking in the room stopped. "You want to understand more about what I do?"

"Yeah. You said calculus was the basis of all engineering and I wanted to know…I wanted to relate…" He trailed off, suddenly feeling stupid. It was silent a moment.

"You remembered that?" Kaiba's voice sounded strange. Jou looked up at him and noticed an unreadable expression on the other's face.

"Of course I remembered that."

"Why?"

"…Because you said it."

The brunet blinked. "And you remember everything I say?"

"Not everything. Just whatever you seem to get excited about. Not that you get excited about anything really, but you talk slightly faster and your eyes start to twinkle…" He trailed off. "What?"

"Nothing." Kaiba stared back down at his keyboard but didn't say anything. Jou found himself shifting awkwardly on the couch.

"I'm sorry I mocked you," Kaiba said suddenly. Jou blinked, not sure if he were hearing things or not. "Do you still need help?"

The blond perked up. "Uh yeah!" He grabbed the textbook from the ground and flipped it to the question. "What is the distance travelled by a bike that moves with a speed of 12x^2+5 kilometers per hour after 32 minutes?" He looked up expectantly.

"Isn't that the same question from before?" The mocking tone had returned to Kaiba's voice.

"Yes," Jou snapped. "You weren't helpful before."

"I'm sorry, it's just that you were thinking of taking the derivative of the equation at 32…"

"See? There you go again. Would it kill you to be nice for once?"

"I _am_ being nice. I offered to help you, didn't I?"

"If you're just gonna be an ass then I'm leaving." Jou grabbed his notebook, shoved it inside his textbook and stood up.

"Don't be a child, Puppy…"

"No. You know what? Just no. I'm done. You're always calling me stupid, making fun of me with those stupid pet names –"

"Whoa, Jou, calm down." Kaiba had his hands held defensively in the air. "What do you mean you're done?"

"You don't even acknowledge I'm your boyfriend in public, so it doesn't matter."

"Of course I don't call you that in public, it sounds so –"

"Gay? And having sex with me every night doesn't?"

Kaiba's jaw slammed shut at that. He and Jou had a staring match for a few moments before the blond spun on his heel.

"Wait. What do you want from me?"

Jou turned back around. "I want you to tell me this means something to you too, Kaiba, and that it's not just an inconvenience for you." He looked at the brunet expectantly.

"You think this is an inconvenience for me? You think I don't want you around?"

The other shrugged. "You never act like it's anything more."

"Jou…"

"It's fine. I'll just go." He felt tears burning in the corners of his eyes. He squeezed them shut, willing the water not to fall.

"Don't go."

"Why not?"

Kaiba sighed. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?"

No response.

"I wouldn't be with you if I didn't like you, Jounochi. You mean everything to me and I can't…just let you leave. I thought you understood that. I didn't think I had to say that."

Jou's eyes flew open and he stared at the CEO, who was standing awkwardly, looking away. "Do you…do you really mean it?" The blond's face split into a grin.

Rather than respond, the brunet cleared his throat. "And to find the distance when given a velocity, you take the integral from zero to the time you want."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Jou flopped back down on the couch, pulling his notes from his textbook. He hunted around for a pencil for a second. "Okay, I'm ready. You do what?"

Kaiba smirked and set back to typing. "I already said it once, I won't repeat it again."

"Aw no fair!"

"You're the one who said you wanted to understand. I rarely have instructions repeated to me."

The blond grumbled at that, but the grin never fell from his face. He flipped through his book before he found what Kaiba had been talking about and scribbled down an answer. Flipping to the back, he checked the results. "Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air. He looked back up at Kaiba, still smiling. "Thanks Kaiba."

"Mm."

Jou debated for a second before finally speaking up. "And I love you too."

A faint flush appeared on Kaiba's cheeks, but the brunet never glanced up. "Shut up, Mutt, and do your homework."

Feeling better than he had before, the blond happily complied. For a few moments, that is.

"Hey, Moneybags, how do you find the integral of a tangent?"

* * *

**AN: **_The answer to the math question (when I am sleep deprived) is: 3.273 km, and the integral of tan is -ln|cosx|+c_


End file.
